I don't mean to question your authority, but do you have proof?  Who ever heard of a "push" hitter IRL?  I know that pushing the ball is something real, but I've never heard of a "push" hitter.
11/12/2012 5:05 PM

What would you call Derek Jeter?   Other than "Best SS Evah!!!"?   He tries to inside/out damn near every pitch. 

11/12/2012 5:08 PM
OK, I answered my own question.  This statement from the "Player Ratings Glossary" seems to indicate that there are "push" hitters in HBD - " The Push/Pull rating indicates whether the player is a pull hitter or opposite field hitter. A rating of 0 indicates an extreme pull hitter."
11/12/2012 5:10 PM
Posted by MikeT23 on 11/12/2012 5:08:00 PM (view original):

What would you call Derek Jeter?   Other than "Best SS Evah!!!"?   He tries to inside/out damn near every pitch. 

Sure, he "tries" to go opposite field.  Does that not imply that he's choosing to push?  It's not the same thing as a Jose Bautista or Cody Ross.  Those guys are pull hitters.  Their mechanics make them that way.
11/12/2012 5:21 PM
So you don't think they're "trying" to pull the ball?
11/12/2012 5:42 PM
I have to agree with shobob here.

There are real life Major Leaguers who are simply pull hitters. They couldn't go the other way to save their life.

On the other hand a guy who is great at hitting the ball to the opposite field usually is a guy who is really good at ball placement, so he could pull the ball if it were the better place to put the ball.

I don't ever remember a player who just pushed the ball every PA and couldn't pull the ball, but of course, there certainly may be examples and I am just not aware of those players.

11/12/2012 6:10 PM
I dunno.  Maybe the best way to put it is they tend to pull the ball when they hit it well?  Being a near Toronto resident, I've seen and heard about Bautista quite a bit.  His "late blooming" success came from him changing his swing, in that he starts it a bit earlier, which results in the bat being further through the swing when contact is made, thereby pulling the ball.  For whatever reason, this tweak turned him into a beast, so he stuck with it.
11/12/2012 6:11 PM
So did he intentionally change his swing?

But there's really no reason for me to beat around the bush.   Bautista pulls the ball because he wants to.   He could easily start his swing a fraction of a second later and hit center/right.   But he'd be less of a hitter.   Much like Jeter would be a lesser hitter if he chose to pull everything.

Let's not pretend that PROFESSIONAL baseball players aren't "trying" to hit the ball the way they hit the ball.
11/12/2012 6:15 PM
But not every PROFESSIONAL ball player is a good hitter.
11/12/2012 6:17 PM
Yeah, they actually are.  They're just facing some pretty good pitching.   They'd destroy the same pitching that would get an average AA hitter out. 
11/12/2012 6:20 PM
11/12/2012 6:33 PM
Good pitching.  They're not hitting off a tee, you know.    And, for the most part, many teams would love to make an Ortiz or Texiera go opposite field. 
11/12/2012 6:41 PM
Posted by shobob on 11/12/2012 5:10:00 PM (view original):
OK, I answered my own question.  This statement from the "Player Ratings Glossary" seems to indicate that there are "push" hitters in HBD - " The Push/Pull rating indicates whether the player is a pull hitter or opposite field hitter. A rating of 0 indicates an extreme pull hitter."
I wasn't making it up, dude.
11/12/2012 8:44 PM
Posted by shobob on 11/12/2012 6:11:00 PM (view original):
I dunno.  Maybe the best way to put it is they tend to pull the ball when they hit it well?  Being a near Toronto resident, I've seen and heard about Bautista quite a bit.  His "late blooming" success came from him changing his swing, in that he starts it a bit earlier, which results in the bat being further through the swing when contact is made, thereby pulling the ball.  For whatever reason, this tweak turned him into a beast, so he stuck with it.
They you might also recall John Olerud?

Very much a "push" hitter.
11/12/2012 8:45 PM
Posted by iain on 11/12/2012 8:45:00 PM (view original):
Posted by shobob on 11/12/2012 6:11:00 PM (view original):
I dunno.  Maybe the best way to put it is they tend to pull the ball when they hit it well?  Being a near Toronto resident, I've seen and heard about Bautista quite a bit.  His "late blooming" success came from him changing his swing, in that he starts it a bit earlier, which results in the bat being further through the swing when contact is made, thereby pulling the ball.  For whatever reason, this tweak turned him into a beast, so he stuck with it.
They you might also recall John Olerud?

Very much a "push" hitter.
Joe Mauer.
11/13/2012 1:59 AM
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